Searching For The Broken
by KyeTamm
Summary: Sequel to Memories Of The Broken. That one night they spent together led to something completely unpredicted. A daughter. This little Asari possesses Shepard's gut-wrenching curiosity, and when her wonder to who her father is reaches its peak, she decides to take matters into her own hands. This can't possibly end well. Aria/Femshep. Aria & Femshep. Femslash.
1. 40

**SEARCHING FOR THE BROKEN**

Aria T'Loak stands vigilant in her place, staring down from an overview at Omega in all its glory. Today is a very special day and Aria must make sure that everything is taken care of before running off. She stares down at the exotic dancers on the giant plate in the middle of the room, then turns her gaze to the various customers littering the halls of Afterlife, then retracting her gaze back to the dancers. Everything seems to be in order. She hopes, and prays to the Goddess, that no one will interrupt today's event in any way.

If someone wants to assassinate her, they'll just have to reschedule.

'Tadus,' Her voice is smooth and demeaning, as usual, but today there's an unusual texture to it. Is it joy? 'I'm leaving Afterlife to you. If I come back tomorrow to find this place trashed, I will fuck you up. Got it?' She turns to give the nervous bartarian the evil eye, earning a low but fearful whimper.

'Y-Yes, Aria.'

'Good.'

Aria then takes a step down from the platform, tearing her gaze away from the dancers, and makes her way out of Afterlife. She has less than thirty minutes to get through the busy traffic to make it to the Galla. And even then, she knows that a bunch of people are going to want to kill her for Goddess knows what reasons. But she made a promise. Even if five dozen Krogans try to take her head-on, she will kill them all just to get home.

She hops into a slick, black shuttle parked behind Afterlife and signals for the Salarian driver to go. The driver nods and leaves the driveway in a hurry, not afraid to take sharp turns and illegal shortcuts to get to their destination.

Aria then stares out of the shuttle window in thought. Her thoughts are interrupted as the view of Omega dampens just mood just slightly. She likes the cold, dirty atmosphere Omega gives. But she knows that this type of atmosphere is not suitable for an innocent soul. She feels a sudden urge to leave this place, to her surprise. She has had countless occupants visit her to enquire about the future stakes of Afterlife. They want Afterlife, they want the ownership, but Aria knows that she can't merely step down like that. So she brushes them away, persuading them that she'll 'get back to them'.

As they cross a narrow street filled with pedestrians of all sorts, her mind wanders to an illusive event that happened 40 years ago, the memory plaguing her mind and stinging her every nerve almost as if it's pinching her very skin. She suddenly feels uncomfortable, and a sorrowful longing fills her gut.

About fifteen minutes later, they arrive in front of a tall sleek, mostly-cleaned building overlooking the entire Omega. It's 30 stories high and has a very modern external form. Aria quickly exits the limo, thanks the driver (rather blatantly) and makes her way into the building, brushing the security guards aside with a flick of her wrist.

She quickly calls for the elevator, and presses the number '30' on the panel inside the elevator. The contraption takes her up, and once she is high enough, the transparent windows allow her to see a full view of her marvellous planet.

'Omega.' She purrs wistfully, smiling.

Once the elevator stops at the highest floor, she steps into a long corridor and manoeuvres her way to the door at the very end. A smile suddenly twists on her lips as the door parts to make way for her to enter the room.

Two Asari's turn to give her a friendly smile and a gentle wave, one human couple watches as she enters and, though nervous, offer her a small smile, a shady-looking Turian gives her a nod from the corner and finally another younger Asari makes her way to Aria as she struts into the room and gives her a nod.

'You're late.' The Asari says, a slightly disappointed frown on her lips.

'I'm here.' Aria emphasizes the words, glaring the Asari down. 'And I want to see her.'

'She's by the window with her friends, cutting the cake.'

Aria brushes past the Asari, passes the countless parents and guardians, and enters the viewing room, where a bunch of younger organic beings of all species gather around a rounded table filled with gifts of all sorts. At the centre of the table, a pretty, slim-figured Asari with light coloured skin and gorgeous pale blue eyes unwraps a red box with an enthusiastic grin on her face. When she pulls out a short but usable grey Razer pistol, she ecstatically hugs a human girl beside her with much joy.

'Thanks so much, Shayre!'

The human looks embarrassed. Heat embellishes her face, and turns her into a walking tomato. She looks in no discomfort when the Asari hugs her.

'I hope you don't plan on using that anytime soon.'

The Asari turns at Aria's sudden arrival. The older Asari has a twisted smug look on her face, whereas the younger Asari brightens up almost instantly. She races up to the taller figure and hugs her tightly.

'You made it!'

'Of course I did.' Aria mutters. She turns her gaze to the kids by the table and shoots them a look. Instantly, they all scatter around, some going off to find their parents, while others merely hang around drinking and eating the cheap cuisine served on the long counter tables by the kitchen.

Aria looks down at the younger Asari and flicks her in the forehead. 'I'm sorry I was late.'

The younger Asari smiles sheepishly and shrugs. 'You're here now. Plus, this just gives me an excuse to BEG for my birthday present!'

Aria raises an eyebrow curiously. Though a playful smile lightens her face, she wonders, deeply, what might this little Asari's wish may be.

'I want... to meet my father,' The younger Asari says, taking a deep, stable breath. 'Mum.'

* * *

Aria sits by her apartment window, on a long, extremely comfortable black standard couch that came with two pairs of fluffy white pillows. Her face is pulled into a nonchalant, bored expression. But her eyes speak of something else.

It's been 40 years since she and the great Commander Shepard once slept together. 40 years since Aria last heard her voice. 40 years since Aria gave birth to the most beautiful girl in the whole galaxy; Her daughter, Ariena T'Loak.

Ever since Liselle, Aria felt as if she could never truly move on with her life. She watched her daughter's body get buried, that wasn't something Aria could easily move by. She was ruthless, heartless and stone-cold, but, as the humans would say, 'she was still human'. She couldn't just push past her daughter's death so easily. It had scarred her more ways than one.

But then, in came Shepard.

Aria thought she had built her barriers pretty well. In a world so untouchable, almost perfect, there was no one who could penetrate the safe walls she had put up. Seemingly so, the great Commander still managed to squeeze her way through. And with that bond, with that new love, came a beautiful baby bustling with life and hope.

Aria never thought she could love another daughter like this again. But Ariena is the light and goodness in Aria's heart. She will never, ever, ever let anyone harm her. Not like how Liselle was harmed.

But still,

Aria hasn't even told her daughter about her real father yet. Ariena has no idea that greatness runs in her blood.

She doesn't know if she'll ever be able to face Shepard again. Everytime she looks at Ariena, she sees Shepard's pale blue eyes. Everytime she looks at Ariena, she sees Shepard's shy and cheeky smile. But the thing that probably hurts the most is when Ariena laughs. When that little asari laughs, Aria is taken back 40 years to when she and Shepard touched for the very first time.

She rubs the skin on her arms in longing.

She'd never admit it. But she misses Shepard greatly.

'Mum?'

Aria turns her gaze to the little asari beside her. Her pale blue eyes stare up at Aria's slightly darker blue ones. It wounds her to be having to lie to her daughter. But what'll happen once she finds out Shepard's her father? Aria likes how things are right now. Why must they change?

'Ariena, go to bed.'

'You haven't answered me.'

Aria looks away, and releases a deep sigh. 'We'll talk about it in the morning.'

The little asari frowns . 'No, we won't. You'll be gone by the time I wake up and I'm gonna have that one-sided conversation with Tadus again.'

'Ariena.' Aria's tone of voice changes. It's a warning now. Ariena knows the consequences of pushing past that warning. She's tried once, and it didn't exactly end well for her. After all, her mother's still Aria T'Loak, ruthless Pirate Queen of Omega.

Ariena looks at her mother with a deep plead in her eyes. She has wanted to meet her father for so long now. That's all she wishes for. That's all she's ever wished for. Of course, being the daughter of Aria T'Loak, there were speculations among the people she usually hung out with. Tadus said it has to be someone equally as dangerous and intimidating as Aria herself. Who else could've impregnated her? Another one of Aria's men, Rember, a Turian ex-marine who fled the battle in Palaven to save his daughter and wife who were on the Citadel when Cerberus struck, even went so far as to claim it was a Krogan! It made sense— Ariena had a strong, burning passion for combat. It would be no surprise if Rember's statement turned out to be true.

However Ariena feels as if she's no closer to finding out who her father is. Even after begging for the answer for so long. Even after bearing through all her mothers' orders and instructions and hard-willed complaints. But Aria has made her decision, so the little asari turns away, and shuffles back to her bedroom in disappointment.

Maybe on her 50th birthday...

Aria stares at her daughter's little back as she makes her way upstairs. She knows that it's only a matter of time before her little spitfire gets, well, not so little anymore. Assuming Ariena grows up to be as smart as Aria, she'd be able to find out who her father anyways. When that day comes, Aria hopes she's prepared for the crazy fury her little spitfire's bound to throw at her. There's no harm in having a fun little battle with your daughter now and then. She had them with Liselle all the time before.

But for now, she's satisfied with just watching her daughter grow up.

A ghost of a smile lingers on her blue face as she casts her gaze down to the magnificent view that is Omega. 'Shepard, wherever you are, I just want you to know. You and your daughter have a shitload in common. I hope when you meet her, you'll be able to see that.'

* * *

**Author's Note:** The beginning to, what I hope, will be a successful story that's mainly focused on Aria, Femshep and their daughter, Ariena. Just a note, her name is pronounced 'Ah-ree-na'. Anyways, I know this first chapter is short, but I reassure you further chapters will be much longer.

Thanks for reading!

-K.


	2. Graduation

**Author's Note: Just a little note guys, if none of you read the summary, this is a SEQUEL to another Fanfic of mine, Memories of the Broken. So if you haven't read that, I strongly recommend that you do to understand this story.**

* * *

A light blue skinned Asari weaves through several obstacles with grace and ease. Her fluid-like movements are the very replica of a skilled Huntress. Her boiling anticipation is that of an overachiever, and she has established that she is indeed an overachiever. That's probably why she always feels the compelling need to complete something, or to rise above other people's expectations, and stun them to silence. It's the reason her training had gone to such hardcore lengths. There was even a day when her training master, a Krogan named Quell, faced her off with both his sons and a top biotic in the academy. The battle was brutal.

Fortunately, she won. Although in an open-eye point of view, she kind of cheated. Slamming someone in the face with a chair doesn't really count as fair play. Nonetheless, she defeated them, and was given the title 'Reaper Princess'. It was an odd name, even to the Asari herself. But it was quite amusing. She became the toughest fighter in the Academy.

No one expected anything less from Aria T'Loak's daughter.

And now, Ariena is going through her final test. Complete this, and she gets to graduate early with a gold recommendation to the Commando ranks. That itself is a huge honour. This test isn't exactly a walk in the park though, mind you. The instructions were simple enough.

_Defeat your training master. _

So here she is, skidding past hurdles and crates trying to avoid the crazy firepower coming from the Krogan mounting the turret a few feet away from her. Her arms are bruised with disinfected bullet wounds and biotic bruises, but it's been 20 minutes and she's still standing. That's a huge achievement in itself.

She ducks behind a low crate, and uses her last medi-gel on a bleeding bullet wound on her stomach.

_This is a horrible initiation._ She thinks to herself, rolling her pale blue eyes when she hears Quell's familiar laugh of victory.

Well, whatever. She's going to get through this. And she's going to be the victor... Somehow.

She peeks through the top of the crate, only to pull herself back when a blast of bullets come whizzing past her, missing her face by only five centimetres. She breathes out a sigh of relief, and grips her Katana Shotgun tightly. She'd kill to have those new Biotic Implant Amputations right now.

'Alright,' She says to herself in a low, husky voice. 'Time to end this.'

With that, she feels herself start to flare immensely. Her eyes are wide with a burning desire to win. She jumps past the crate, and runs towards Quell.

The bullets he fires rips right through her shield, sending a jolt of energy through Ariena's very body. But she ignores it, and keeps running. The Krogan seems irritated now. The way she's charging towards him is practically the very invitation for a head-to-head battle. No Krogan can resist those. But apparently Quell is smart enough to not underestimate Ariena's powers, because he stays at his seat on the gun, and continues firing. A wise choice. But it still holds powerless. Right before the army of bullets could tear through her suit and turn her body into a pile of lifeless organs and limbs, she takes a jump. With a strong biotic kick, she leaps up high in the air, and raises her hand for a heavy Nova right before she lands right on top of the giant turret.

The force of the Nova knocks Quell right off his feet. He flies backwards, and skids on the ground harshly. He shouts out in both surprise and pain.

When Ariena hops down and dusts herself off, she raises her Katana and shoves it right in front of the Krogan's face. A sick, twisted smirk darkens her face, and the fiery flames in her eyes burn brightly at the victorious move she had just executed.

'Looks like you're down and out, Krogan.'

Quell, though defeated, flashes her a wry smile, after taking several moments to realize what happened. 'I've taught you well, T'Loak. Good job.'

Right then, the lights to the arena all flicker on. The bright intense beams cause Ariena to flinch and shield her eyes for a few moments before finally being able to recover. She smiles and extends a hand to Quell. He accepts it gracefully, and the two share a friendly laugh.

That's the way it goes in the academy. The students get bruised and beaten, but by the end of the day their enemy becomes their best brother or sister. It's just the way of life there.

A door behind the two parts to make way for the several Turians, Asari's and Humans that came to watch Ariena's 'graduation initiation'. There isn't really a formal word for the event; it just came to be known as an initiation. And since you get to graduate after you pass it, 'graduation initiation' sounds the most appropriate in this case.

The several parents and friends come over to congratulate the now flushed Ariena. Oh, she's terrific with people. She can coax a pissed off Krogan out of his bloodrage, and sweet-talk a high-class human into giving her nine million credits in just fifteen minutes. She gets that from her mother, of course.

A human comes up to Ariena, his face fresh with enthusiasm, as he clasps her hands in his and shakes them vigorously.

'That was an amazing battle, Ariena! I had total faith in you!'

'T-Thank you, Mr. Joseph. I appreciate you giving the time to see me.'

'Of course, of course!'

That happens another five times as the parents continue to dote over this great little Asari. Well, she isn't exactly so little anymore.

'Happy 80th birthday, spitfire.'

A tall, beautiful Asari makes her way past the crowd of parents and friends that had gathered in front of Ariena. She brushes past them, and they make way for her. The very instant they see her, fear glints in their eyes. She stands right in front of the slightly shorter Asari, giving her a wide, proud grin. Her face is etched with sheer joy. She looks genuinely proud of her daughter, and it just makes the younger Asari all the more satisfied with her victory.

'Mum!' She exclaims, flinging her arms around her mother's neck. Aria returns the embrace, and after a short while she pulls away.

'You're getting more and more powerful day by day.'

Ariena smirks. 'Thanks to you, no doubt. And I still don't think a battle that could've killed me is a good birthday present, by the way. I mean, really mum?' She shoots Aria an incredulous look, which the older Asari responds to with an amused laugh.

'I wouldn't have requested the battle if I knew you weren't ready for it. But I knew you were. I had absolutely no doubt you were going to win. And I was right. So where's the backlash here?'

Ariena feels her stomach churn uncomfortably. She gives the people crowding behind her mum a look, and waits for them to scatter until she finally turns back to her mother. She flashes her a warm smile and shrugs with one shoulder. "I was hoping you'd give me a _real_ birthday present this year.'

Aria raises a curious eyebrow. Suddenly the situation seems too familiar. But she can't quite pinpoint why.

Ariena takes a stable breath, and nods. 'Okay. Well, I- uh, I want to—' She pauses, and fidgets uncomfortably. Finally, she looks right into her mother's eyes, and grins. 'I want to meet my dad!'

'Oh for the Goddess' sake, Ariena.'

Aria doesn't take a second's pause to reply. Her eyes are now dull with discontent, and her lips are curled into a disappointed frown.

Ariena doesn't understand why her mum's so opposed to her meeting her real dad! I mean, it's not as if her dad's some kind of rapist or creepy hobo, right? Unless...

She diminishes the thought from her head and glares up at her mum.

'Why not?!' She chases after Aria when the older Asari turns to make her way out the arena. 'Mum, I have some really excellent debate points that may win my favour today and I swear I will use them as ammunition if you refuse to comply.'

Aria spins around and grins evilly at her daughter. 'Not only do I refuse to comply, I refuse to listen too.'

'Mum!'

'Not listening.'

Ariena shouts out in frustration and flings a small shockwave at her direction. 'You're so infuriating!'

The shockwave seems to have caught Aria's attention. The Pirate Queen turns around slowly, seemingly quite surprised at the sudden attack. She then faces her daughter, and glares her right down to the ground with an agitated smug grin on her face. She has her teeth clenched together, and her hands balled to fists.

'You did _not_ just throw a shockwave at me.'

Ariena gulps. 'I did. And I believe that my point has been put across. I strongly believe that I need to meet my father, I mean I'm already 80 and considering the circumstances I think it's a great chance to—'

She's cut off by a hard Throw that sends her falling onto her ass a few metres away from where she originally stood. Of course, no one else but the opposite Asari could've initiated the Throw. When Ariena recovers, her face stares up at her mother in pure shock.

'Mum!' She exclaims. 'Not cool!'

She scrambles up, advancing on her mother with a hand placed on the gun strapped behind her belt tightly. If Goddess forbids she uses it, the outcome to this battle was going to be pretty one-sided. Ariena may be a skilled fighter now, but her mother was on a completely different level. She learned that through experience.

'You're seriously gonna make me start another firefight right _after_ my initia—I mean graduation initiation thing?!' She clicks her tongue and glares Aria down. 'You're so typical.'

'There is nothing 'typical' about me, Ariena.' Aria's low voice is demeaning. Any other patriot would've gotten scared off their ass, but Ariena is not any other patriot. She's pretty used to her mother's tough and intimidating exterior by now. She's lived with the woman for 80 years after all. Then again, it's not common for Aria to pull out the low 'warning' voice. Maybe Ariena should just pull away, and suggest a flying pony for her birthday instead. But just when she decides to do exactly that, Aria throws a Singularity, which sends Ariena flying up in the air, shouting out protests and insults.

'What in the—Mum! This is just plain annoying! O-Oh, you're enjoying this aren't you!' She snaps, floating upside down in the air with her arms crossed. 'Come on, isn't there _any_ chance I can meet my father!?'

Aria laughs, shrugging the question off as if it was only a joke. 'Only in your sweetest, sweetest dreams.'

'You little—'

Ariena does a backflip, and manages to manoeuvre her way out of the range of the Singularity. She lands on her feet, and pulls out the Razor pistol she got from her human friend Shayre when she was just 40 from behind her.

Aria smirks. 'Oh, I can see you're taking this argument _very_ seriously.'

Ariena frowns. 'You're unbelievable.'

She fires two shots, which of course was easy to block with Aria's biotic shield, before she glances upward, and directs her gun to the glass ceiling above. Three bullets go off, and they break the platform above. Shards of glass rain on Aria as if confetti. It takes her a moment to realize what was happening. Quickly, she steps back and shields herself with another biotic barrier. The glass fall to her feet, and only one manages to nick her good in the arm.

'Hah,' Aria smiles in satisfaction. 'You're getting better. But not nearly as clever as I thought you'd be.'

Ariena rolls her pale blue eyes, and holsters her gun onto her back. 'Are you really not gonna have this conversation with me?'

'I thought I made myself clear, Ariena.'

'Yeah, 40 years ago.' She sighs loudly, and makes her way to her mother. What does she have to do to meet the person who conceived her? She faces her mother, sorrow lingering behind her blue eyes, with her arms crossed and her shoulders sagging.

'I just—I just want my dad to be there for my graduation. I mean,' Ariena looks conflicted. She doesn't wanna push another fight with her mum (although their 'fights' happen almost weekly. Once they even got into a spat because they disagreed on what to eat for breakfast) but she's been waiting 80 years to meet her dad.

Call her obsessive, but she's been holding onto the thought of her father since she was born. Her overwhelming curiosity doesn't make not knowing any easier either.

'Do you remember when I was 32? My class had that... weird _Bring Your Parents To School _day?' Ariena chuckles, shaking her head at the memory. 'Colad brought his creepy dad. I remember because he'd always stare at Shayre and I weirdly. We thought he wanted our squid sticks. Shayre brought both her parents. Charming people. Although I think her father was giving another human female the stare, if you know what I mean. Anyways, I don't know if you remember, but I was the only one without a parent. You were busy with some kind of assassination project, trying to keep yourself alive, so I was able to understand that. But if I had my dad—'

'Ariena,'

'No, mum, I'm serious. I want to meet my dad. Now.'

Aria's eyes widen in surprise. Ariena's always been a spitefire, that much is true. But even so she's smart enough to know never to use the 'warning' voice on her mother. But here she is, giving Aria the very famous T'Loak 'warning' voice. Aria doesn't know whether to feel proud or a little embarrassed. Nonetheless, this is her daughter. And she knows that her daughter's probably capable of her wrath plus more, considering her father is the great Commander Shepard. So what other choice does she have but to agree?

With a frustrated sigh and a disappointed frown, Aria says, 'Alright.'

'But mum, it's my 80th birthday! I mean, sure, a flying pony would be freaking awesome but—' She pauses abruptly, her mother's words finally sinking into her system. She stares up at the older Asari in surprise, and raises an eyebrow. 'Did you just say—You mean I _can_ meet my dad?'

Aria rolls her eyes. 'Yes, Ariena, you can. I mean, you are already 80.'

Surprise overwhelms Ariena, but the joy quickly takes over. 'Goddess, you're not kidding, are you?! Ohmygoddess, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!' Ariena embraces her mum tightly, feeling the enormous weight on her shoulder dissipating. Well, looks like 80's her lucky number. 'Oh goddess, to think the only thing I needed to get you onboard was to pull out the low voice. Hah! I could've done that years ago.'

Ariena shoots her mum a cheeky look and pulls her in for another tight embrace. She's just so happy! To be able to finally meet her father! Damn, what a rush.

Aria, however, is less than pleased at the outcome of this argument. She knew since the beginning that Ariena's birthday wish was to meet her father. Every year she'd ask for it. And she knew that, once again, she'd have to somehow weasel her way out of another argument. But, apparently, her daughter has grown up. Growling at her own self-weakness, Aria rolls her eyes and restrains herself from walking away.

Well, Aria T'Loak never plays fair anyways. She has a few human friends who owe her a few favours.

Maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to keep Ariena from meeting Shepard after all.

* * *

'Shepard,'

A tall and tan brunette turns around, pale blue eyes wide with curiosity, and stares at a beautiful Asari wearing a gorgeous cyan blue dress that drapes down her knees in confusion. A serious frown darkens the Asari's sharp features, which causes the human to twinge slightly in concern.

'Liara,' Shepard whispers, voice, as usual, confident and a little cocky. She has a smug smirk plastered on her amused face. 'What's wrong? Did someone destroy something already?'

Liara purses her lips together. 'Not funny, Shepard.'

Shepard approaches the Asari, a seductive linger in each step. 'We're roomies, Liara, it's natural that whatever's yours is mine too. I promise I'll pay if either Wrex or Grunt or even Zaeed breaks something.'

'Not the point.'

'So what is?'

Liara looks up at Shepard nervously. She can see the curiosity behind her eyes. She raises the holofile in her hand and gestures to the party outside. 'Kaidan picked this up just a few minutes ago. It's a transcript from a worker in Omega to someone in the Citadel. We all thought you should know about this.'

'Why?'

'Because,' Liara sighs. 'It's about Aria T'Loak.'

* * *

**Author's Replies:**

**JDrange—Thanks for the review! Much appreciate (:**

**ThorShared—Thank you! More on the way. **

**Guest—Thank you, it means alot! :p**

**YamCakes—Haha, well I hope you stick with it till the end :p And if you haven't read my previous fic, I suggest you do, cause then you'll understand what happened before Ariena was born. **

**Manakel—Thank you (:**

**-K.**


	3. Threats Really Are Endgame

_Her hot, wet tongue is in Aria's mouth, exploring the depths within, seeding the Asari with desires only she knows exist. Their heated bodies are pressed together, legs entangled, and arms over each other's necks. Everything around Aria melts away. Shit that once mattered to her don't anymore. Because right at this moment, with her lips pressed against the other girl's lips, it's all she can do not to fade away in a momentary paralysis of pure bliss. _

_ She's home. Finally, she's home. _

_ A name slips off her tongue like ice, smooth and rough all at the same time. It feels so natural, and it feels so real. _

_ 'Shepard.' _

Aria wakes up in cold sweat.

Her breathing is sharp and uneven, her body is drenched in sweat, and her heartbeat's beating too fast—Way too fast for comfort.

'Fuck,' She spits.

Another dream about Shepard two nights in a row? That just can't be a coincidence.

'This is retarded.' She whispers to herself, glaring down at her drenched body underneath the sheets.

She knows the reason for her sudden obsession. She had just promised her daughter she'd be able to meet her father. But Aria herself hasn't seen Shepard for 80 years, how is she supposed to face her again? Especially since Shepard doesn't even know of Ariena's existence!

Shit, she'd rather face down an army of Krogan than go through this kind of torture.

Well, it's been two days since she promised Ariena she'd let her meet her father. And tomorrow's the day of her giant 80th birthday slash graduation party she's hosting, so supposedly it's not surprise Aria's suddenly having these frequent panic attacks. Panic dreams, more like it. Things haven't been going so smooth.

There are two or three humans who offered to play the part of Ariena's 'dad'. But none of them impressed Aria enough. She needs someone skilled, impressive and utterly beautiful. It's a shame she can't call an Asari. She knows plenty of Asari's who are, not only, gorgeous but deadly as well.

Wait a second.

She _can_ call an Asari!

After all, Ariena has no idea who her father is. She doesn't even know what race he or she is! This is the perfect opportunity to test the waters with some of her clients. Plus, Ariena will be satisfied (although she doesn't exactly fancy being a pureblood) and she'll leave the whole daddy thing alone! Thus leaving Aria in the comfortable situation of being comfortable again!

What a genius plan!

A relieved sigh escapes Aria's blue lips, before she activates her omni-tool, and starts scrolling through a bunch of contacts' numbers. She sees many names, some male, some female, some Asari, some Hanar, some even yahg. Say what you want about the brutes but damn, they can fight. Anyway, one specific name catches Aria's attention almost instantly.

She pauses, and stares, wide-eyed.

Will it work? Will she even be up for the job?

A staring contest between Aria and the onni-tool engages, and the Asari is forced to back down when her eyes start straining at the only bright light in an otherwise dark room.

'Well, what do I have to lose?'

She forces the negative thoughts away and type in a short but significant message, sending it with a nod and a smile.

'That takes care of that.'

The light soon disappears, along with Aria's strong feelings of doubt, and she falls back onto her back, breathing out a heavy sigh of relief. Maybe this will work, maybe it won't. But Aria knows one thing—She can't ever let Shepard find out about Ariena. It's been too long, and it'll hurt too much. Shepard's the only person she's ever let into her world ever since Liselle. Even Nyreen wasn't that serious. And the thought of Shepard being furious at the realization of Ariena's existence would be too much.

She wants Ariena to grow up happy. Because even though Aria T'Loak is _the_ Pirate Queen, she lost one daughter already. She won't let her ego make the same mistake twice.

* * *

Ariena stares at herself in the mirror—a tall, slim blue lady wearing a beautiful white dress that cuts down by the knees stares back at her with a beautiful silver necklace at hand. She sucks in a mouthful of air, and pause. She's been called attractive plenty of times. But in truth, she's actually had a very sore ego growing up. She didn't know if her friends were actually befriending her because they liked her, or they liked her position as daughter of the Pirate Queen. Fearing that, she's always had a hard time making friends. She had an even harder time making enemies. Considering everyone feared her. Although that fact in itself isn't exactly complain-worthy. But now, as she stares at this older, more mature Asari, she feels a sense of self-pride deep within, and smiles widely at the thought.

'My god, you're beautiful.'

Ariena quickly turns around, eyes wide and heartbeat quick. She recognizes that voice way too well. 'Ava.'

The human opposite Ariena, slim, beautiful and silver-haired, smirks, and approaches Ariena carefully and dangerously. 'Hello to you too, Miss T'Loak. How are you this fine evening?'

Ariena's features instantly brighten up with joy. She bites her lip shyly, and shuffles closer to the human girl. 'Perfect. Now that you're here.'

They edge closer to each other, but just when their lips are about to meet, the human girl hesitates slightly, and pulls away.

'Your mum will kill me if she sees us doing this.'

Ariena rolls her pale eyes. 'Well, my mum's not here, genius, so come here already.'

Ava laughs out loud. 'So demanding. Like mother, like daughter.'

And without another word, Ariena places her hand on Ava's waist, and pulls her in for a deep kiss. Their tongues run against each other, sending an electric jolt up both their spines. It's intoxicating—Since Ariena met Ava, she knew this girl was something special. Her mother would say otherwise though, considering Ava's father is a huge crime lord who's been messing with Aria's shit. And Aria hates it when someone messes with her shit. So, of course, their relationship is kind of kept in a down low.

Ava's the first one to pull away, gasping heavily at the very weight of the kiss. 'Shit Ari, you've been holding that one back, huh?'

Ariena smirks, licking her lips in longing. 'Wanted to save a good one for my 80th. Did I do a satisfactory job?'

'Satisfactory?' Ava repeats. 'It was gold, gorgeous. Gold.'

Ariena places another quick but passionate kiss on the human girls' lips, before pulling away, and raising the silver necklace in her hand. 'Look at what mum gave me.'

Ava examines the jewellery closely. Her eyes widen in both surprise and amazement. 'Damn Ari, this is pure silver! Gorgeous, fashionable and expensive as hell! Aria seriously got this for you?'

The Asari shoots her girlfriend a look. 'Okay, I'm still not over the fact that you call mum by her first name. But yeah, she did. Trying to bribe me, I bet.'

'Bribe you? For what?'

'Well—Oh, help me out with this, will you?'

The silver-haired human nods quickly, and grabs the silver from Ariena's hands carefully. She waits until the Asari turns, and wraps the accessory around her neck.

'She finally agreed to let me meet my dad.'

Ava's eyes widen. 'Really?'

'Yeah. But I don't think she's actually gonna play fair. I mean, I respect her ways of manipulation and all but I hate the fact that she's gonna trick me like this.'

'What do you mean?'

Ariena turns around after Ava fastens the necklace on. She gestures to the living room outside, and the two make their way to the party going on beyond the automatic doors.

'Ava, if I know my mum—and trust me, I really do— I know that she'll probably introduce me to someone who _isn't_ my dad.'

'She'd actually do that?'

'Oh yeah, she definitely will. That's why I'm planning to catch her in the act. And I need your help.'

Ava's eyebrow shoots up. 'Not sure I like where this is going.'

Ariena smirks. 'Oh you just have to be there and look pretty, darling. I'll be doing all the work.'

'So submission over dominance, huh?' Ava shrugs and smiles. 'I'm down with that.'

'Awesome.'

And so the party begins. Rather epically, might I add.

Half an hour in and half the partiers already have their shirts off. Granted, most of the partiers who are shirtless are stripper Asari's. But who's to blame Ariena for having many stripper friends? Her mum owns a damn club for goddess' sake, much to Ava's jealous discomfort. Ariena spends the night drinking Turian shots out of another Asari's belly, and hiding in her upstairs bathroom making out with an overly jealous Ava.

The night was legendary, and to think it's still young!

Before she knows it, her mum rolls up the lobby in a reinforced skycar. Everyone knows that when Aria arrives, it's been at _least_ three hours into the party already. That's Aria T'Loak for you, always fashionably late.

Now that Ariena thinks about it, Aria's probably getting a kick out of being late too. After all, she gets to show up, and watch as all the partiers crowd around her to either kiss up to her, or insult her after being way too intoxicated on alcohol. Either way, she enjoys the attention.

This time, however, something's different. Aria's two Bartarian bodyguards, Tadus and Gwyn, hurriedly follow her into the building, as well as a few Asari biotics. That's normal, at least. Aria always has back-up bodyguards. Just in case, she'd always say. But this time, a beautiful Asari wearing a long blue dress walks beside her, looking very much gorgeous and very much elegant.

Ariena stares down at them from her veranda, and raises a curious eyebrow.

Could this Asari be her father? Her theory before might still be true. Aria could have hired this woman to play the part of her father just to mess with her head. But just seeing this Asari, standing so close to her mother, with her gleaming blue eyes bright in the moonlight, Ariena can't help but think, maybe, this woman truly is her father?

'Hey,' Ava joins Ariena on the veranda shortly, and stands beside her in the cold night air. 'What're you up to?'

'I think that's my dad.'

Ava's eyes widen, and quickly, she directs her gaze to the lobby below. Sure enough, beside Ariena's famous and dangerous mother, stands a gorgeous Asari probably somewhere in her 100's or 200's.

'Woah. Pureblood, huh?' Ava smiles cheekily. 'Well, I now know where you get your looks from.'

Ariena shoots her a surprised look. 'Ava, you're constantly calling my mum a MILF. You can't seriously think that I don't get at least some of 'my looks' from her.'

'What? O-Oh no, no,' The human girl chuckles lightly and shakes her head in panic. 'That's not what I meant—I mean,' With a sigh, she grabs Ariena's hand and grips it tightly. 'Your mum is bloody hot, don't get me wrong, but Ariena, you're absolutely gorgeous. I can't imagine your other parent being any less beautiful than Aria is because seriously I've been asking myself how can one being be this beautiful for two years now. The question remains unanswered. Until today, at least.'

Ariena blushes a darker shade of blue. She can even feel the heat from her toes! What is with this human and constantly trying to make her blush? And succeeding! Goddess, it's almost overwhelming.

'Damn it, Ava.' She laughs awkwardly, and turns away to block the Ava's view of her now zaffre blue face. 'You're a damn pussy.'

'Hah!' Ava laughs out, and snakes her arm around Ariena's waist. 'You don't mean that, love.'

The two sneak in a kiss, before one of Ariena's friends, a turian named Charden, slides open the glass veranda door and interrupts them.

'O-Oh! Sorry to, uh, interrupt. I just wanted to—'

'For the last time, Charden. The fruit punch is in the _kitchen._'

Charden hesitates at Ariena's evil glare. It causes his legs to turn to jelly. But even so, he straightens his back, and breathes out a sigh. 'Aria T'Loak is at the door. Just thought you should know.'

Curiosity peeks at Ariena's eyes. Looks like the guests of honour are here. She lets a smile slip, nods at Charden, and turns to give Ava a look in need of reassurance. Ava, noticing the hesitation, gives her girlfriend a kiss on the cheek and a nod. Ariena feels much better after that, and makes her way to the front door. She's still a little nervous, no doubt. Her father might be behind those doors. Whether or not it's a trick her mother planned is completely insignificant to her at this point. Because even though she'd refuse to believe it, much more refuse to admit it, she actually doesn't care if this person is her real father or not. She just wants a dad. A dad who'll love and care for her.

When she arrives by the door, she can already feel her loud heartbeat in sync with the booming drums coming from the speakers above her. She inhales sharply, and waits for the double doors to open.

The doors part, only to reveal a nonchalant Aria wearing a fine silk dress, black from neck to toe, standing next to a more-than-a-little-nervous Asari sporting a rather expensive blue dress that dips down to her calves. She looks beautiful. And truth be told? A little part of Ariena feels jealous of her.

'Mum!' She squeaks awkwardly, trying her best to look as normal as possible. 'Finally, you're here!'

Aria gives her daughter a look, before nodding at her bodyguards behind her. They disperse, and head out to different directions, blocking out each entrance and each exit. Finally, she's left alone with her daughter and another Asari. She forces a charming smile, and pats the Asari next to her on the back.

'Ariena, this is, um, your father.' She forces out, having to grit her teeth in pure agony. 'She's absolutely... ecstatic to be here today.'

The Asari shares a look with Aria, before turning to Ariena, and nodding rather quickly. 'Y-Yes! Yes, I am. Um, happy—happy birthday, Ariena! I, uh, I hope I'm not intruding or—I mean, no, why would I be intruding? I mean—'

'As you can see, she's a little nervous with meeting her daughter.'

Ariena feels her cheeks heat up as she approaches the two. 'N-No, I completely understand! I mean, I'm a nervous wreck as well. It's... so good to finally meet you!'

The Asari is forced to grin back.

'I, uh, I have a confession to make.' Ariena smiles widely, and turns to give Aria a knowing look. In turn, Aria responds with a look of fearful confusion. 'I recognize you, dad.'

'What?'

A look of panic crosses both the Asari's faces, before Ariena nods, and continues on.

'Yeah, I see you sometimes on the extranet and stuff.' She flashes her a cheeky smile, and shrugs. 'It's really, really good to finally meet you, Doctor T'soni.'

**7 HOURS EARLIER**

Aria stares down from an overview at Omega, bursting with dead life and flashy lights, and finds herself in an uncomfortable position of being uncomfortable. In 7 hours, she's going to have to face her daughter with a 'fake dad' in tow. The reality of that statement isn't exactly appealing to the Asari. She thinks about what she's going to do as she sits down on her mahogany-coloured couch, draping her arms over the top.

Tadus approaches her soon after. 'Doctor T'soni is here.'

Aria forces herself not to hesitate. 'Send her in, and leave us.'

Tadus nods quickly. He then disappears down the stairs. Aria waits. She waits for the other Asari to make her appearance. As expected, not long after he leaves, a disgruntled Liara T'soni appears in his place sporting a rather confused and bewildered expression. She notices Aria, hesitates, and takes a few steps toward her.

'Aria.' She says casually, nodding at the fellow Asari. 'It's good to see you again.'

'Yes, I believe it is.' Aria tilts her head at Liara. She's grown to be quite the remarkable woman. True, she was quite remarkable even before when Shepard was skin-deep in Reaper territory but now, 80 years older, she just looks—Aria chuckles. She finds herself feeling slightly envious of her figure. 'Not bad, T'soni. You've grown up quite...' She trails off, unable to find an appropriate word.

Liara rolls her eyes. 'Hot?' She shrugs the comment off, and places a hand on her hip. 'The message said it was urgent.'

'It also said that it doesn't involve violence.' Aria gives the gun on Liara's waist a hard look.

Liara shifts uncomfortably. 'You must realize, Aria. With someone of my reputation, I am bound to meet with some trouble anywhere in the galaxy. Precautions must be made. Standard procedures must be given.'

'Right, of course, because everyone's out to kill the Shadow Broker.'

Liara's eyes widen in shocked displeasure. 'How did you—'

'It doesn't matter, Doctor. It's just more leverage I can use to get you to help me.'

Liara crosses her arms, and waits for Aria to continue.

'Why don't you sit?' Aria says casually, gesturing to the empty couches beside her. 'Standing looks too formal for me. I'd rather we sit down, and talk it out.'

Liara purses her lips together, but nonetheless makes her way to the couch facing Aria's right. She sits down sheepishly, and turns to give the other Asari the stare. She doesn't like where this is going. Not more than six hours ago, she received an e-mail from the Pirate Queen herself, stating that it's urgent she makes her way to Omega immediately, and that she goes alone without any weapons or devices. At first, Liara was suspicious towards it. She was never close to Aria, especially since she stole Shepard away from her. But truth was, she wanted to find out the truth about Aria's 'daughter'.

The information Kaidan stole from a private extranet terminal indicated that Aria had an 80 year old Asari daughter on Omega. Shepard was less than pleased to hear about this. In fact, she was downright speechless. She left the room after reading about it, and Liara hasn't seen her since. She'll get to the daughter part. But first, she'll listen to Aria's 'urgent message'.

With her lips sealed and her legs crossed, she waits.

Aria seems uncomfortable with the topic. She shifts and flinches nervously, trying her best to avoid eye-contact with Liara. 'How have you been, Doctor?'

Liara sighs heavily and turns away. She doesn't want to stall. She's way too impatient for that. 'Goddess, Aria, just get down to the point!'

'I have a daughter.'

Silence suddenly fills the room. The only noise the two are able to hear is coming from the giant speakers around them, filling the whole club with crazy techno music. Everything else is just a blur of confused realization and awkward nervousness. Liara is first to speak. She finds it hard to believe that Aria would admit to it so quickly. And so blatantly too.

'Who's the father?'

Aria scrunches her nose. 'That's none of your business. That's no one's business.'

Liara shoots her an unappreciative glare. 'Then what's the point in telling me you have a daughter to begin with?'

'I need you to—to pretend to be her father.'

'What?' Liara exclaims. Her surprise floods her discomfort, making her gape at the other Asari in absolute shock. 'You're kidding.'

'Unfortunately, I'm not. It's not a choice for me, Liara, you know if I had a choice, I wouldn't have turned to you. I need you to help me.'

Liara hesitates. What in the world? How can Aria just expect her to be onboard like that? Why would she even call _her_? Doesn't she have other friends who would be _happy_ to play the part of Aria's lover? Besides, who's this daughter's real father anyways? Thoughts and questions and images run through her head, but only one thing is clear; there is no way she's going to agree to this.

'Before you reject this,' Aria says hurriedly, interrupting Liara before she can open her mouth to reject. 'I just want to emphasize the fact that if you help me, I'll reward you richly.'

'I don't want your credits, Aria.'

'I'm not talking about credits.' Aria shoots Liara a knowing look. 'Information, locations, people—Whatever happens on Omega will go directly to your personal terminal. I'll even make it possible for you to be able to track down anyone who goes in and out of the spaceport here without a single issue. Doesn't that sound like the kind of resources the Shadow Broker would need?'

Liara glares at her. 'The Shadow Broker has enough resources, thank you.'

'But it's tempting, right?' Aria sighs and straightens her back. 'Look, it's just for one night. You just have to be there and talk to her. Make up stories, connect with her one-sided conversations, and just sit and nod. Is that so much to ask for?'

Liara can feel the plead in her voice and the nervousness radiating from Aria's mysterious physique. It's so unusual to see the Pirate Queen in dismay. Sure, she hasn't seen her for 80 years but that doesn't mean Aria has to change at all. Then again, maybe the birth of her daughter changed her a little. She's a little bit softer now. Just that little. And Liara notices it.

'Why me though?' She asks finally.

Aria looks thoughtful for a minute, before she replies with a casual, 'You and I have history—what with both of us having slept with the same person before. That history will show more chemistry on our part. Ariena will be forced to believe you're her dad. Furthermore, once she sees you're _the _Liara T'soni, famous galaxy-known archaeologist and adventurer, she'll be happy, and she'll drop the topic entirely.'

'Wow, Aria,' Liara whispers. 'You really thought this through.'

Aria flinches at having been caught. She turns to give the Asari a death glare, before turning away in spite. 'That doesn't concern you. Now, Doctor, would you be so kind as to accept the damn offer so that we can both get this awkward tension off our shoulders?'

Liara pauses for a few seconds. 'Have you told Shepard about this child?'

You can see Aria tensing up instantly. Her body is frigid still, and she looks almost scared. She avoids Liara's gaze, and tries her best to keep her body from reacting like that again. No way in hell will Shepard ever find out about this.

'T'soni, I refuse to answer any more of your questions.'

Liara scowls. 'That's not—'

'Do you really want the whole galaxy to find out who the Shadow Broker is?'

Liara tenses. 'You wouldn't.'

'You know I would.' Aria turns her gaze to glare her down. She's determined to get her. Not because of any intimate reasons, but just because Liara would never hurt Shepard in any way, and because of that, she won't spill the beans on Aria's daughter. That would make Shepard extremely uncomfortable, and Liara won't want that. So it's like killing two birds with one stone. Aria just hopes that her plan won't backfire. Although in Aria's case, something bad's bound to happen.

Liara turns away, eyes closed in pure irritation. 'Fine. You win. I'll be your daughter's 'father'.'

Aria stifles a sigh of relief and smirks. Looks like her plan worked. Threats are always endgame, after all. 'Perfect. Now, here's what you need to know...'

**PRESENT**

Ariena stares at Doctor T'soni from a few paces away with a wondrous look in her eyes. She looks thoughtful, yet at the same time conflicted. She bites her lip, and takes a sip from the red cup in her hands. The taste is bitter, but she doesn't pay much attention to that. She has eyes traced on Liara once again, focusing on every inch of her body.

A tap on her shoulder causes her to jump in surprise. She whirls around, and stares at a speechless Ava in bewilderment.

'Geez, you scared me.'

'I tapped you on the shoulder,' Ava muses. 'How is that scaring?'

Ariena shrugs, and places her cup down on the table.

'Something wrong?' Worry clouds the human's concerned grey eyes. She reaches out to Ariena, and places a hand on her shoulder. She notices the bothered look in her eyes.

Ariena chuckles lightly, and shakes her head. 'That's my dad,' She gestures to an awkward Liara sitting by the corner of the room sipping some Asari wine. 'Well, that's what my mum wants me to believe anyways. I-I don't know what to think.'

Ava smiles encouragingly. 'Shouldn't you talk to her? Get to know her and stuff?'

'I-I don't know,' Ariena plays with her fingers nervously. Truth is, she's kind of speechless that her father might be _the_ Liara T'soni. She's an archaeologist. She's an adventurer. She was a huge part of the destruction of the Reapers. Ariena really doesn't know how she can live up to that. If Liara is truly her father, then how is she gonna grow up knowing this? She has that kind of blood in her veins? How pressuring.

'Alright, I'll go talk to her.' She nods to herself. She has to at least have one decent conversation with her. It'll clear the air a little. Supposedly.

Just when she plans to do exactly that, a bell alerts her of a new guests' arrival. She stares at the door in confusion. That's weird. She doesn't remember inviting anyone else. Everyone is already here.

She gives Ava a look, and makes her way to the door. She waits for it to part, and when it does, she finds herself staring at an olive-skinned, blue-eyed human with an almost fearful expression on her face, wearing a white undershirt, a black jacket and dark pants. She recognizes this human. And when she does, her eyes widen almost instantly.

'Hi!' The human says hurriedly, grinning at Ariena in a somewhat shy way. 'Is this, uh, Aria T'Loak's place?'

Ariena is dumbfounded. She can't speak. Her words are clogged in her throat. All she can do is nod.

The human smiles nervously. 'Oh great!'

It takes a few seconds of awkward silence for the human to realize an introduction is in order. She shakes her head and extends her hand. 'Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Shepard.'

Ariena stares, speechless. The destroyer of the Reapers, the savior of the Council, and a goddamn hero to the whole galaxy is standing right in front of her with her hand extended wearing a nervous yet wide grin, seemingly interested in looking for her mother.

Ariena has absolutely no idea what's going on. But this is shaping up to be the best birthday ever.

* * *

**Author's Replies:**

**Rigel100- Thanks for the review! Well, in the Mass Effect universe, humans are able to live up to 150. Assuming Zaeed is about 40 or 50 in ME2/ME3, he'd be about 120-130 now. Not saying he's still young and active, but he's still alive. Same goes for Kaidan. And in fact, though I didn't specify it, this Shepard most probably chose the Destruction ending. **

**JDrange- Thanks! Appreciate the review (:**

**Dracconnis- Thank you!**

**Guest- Wow, I'm so flattered at your review! Yes, Femshep/Aria is truly the best pairing ever! :D**

**SherryE- Thank you very much (:**

**-K.**


	4. The Chase Begins

The dark-skinned human C-Sec Officer crosses his arms, and leans against the desk suggestively. His eyes scan through the holofile in his hand. He looks dissatisfied with what he was given. With a disgruntled sigh, he places the holofile on the table and faces the light blue skinned Asari once again. In the strictest and most confident voice he can muster, he says,

'Ms. T'Loak, please explain again how three Asaris, two humans and one drunken Turian managed to vandalize and destroy C-Sec lower wards sector B to sector G.'

Ariena looks up at the officer and snarls. 'Let's put aside the fact that I don't even know where Sector B to Sector G is, might I remind you little humans that _anything_ is possible with heavy liquor.'

The Turian officer beside the human flings him a look, before turning his gaze back to Ariena. He's the more lenient one of the two, apparently. When they first took Ariena in, the human kept asking things about Code 9.282 or Sector D7, whatever the hell that means, while the Turian just looked onward probably wondering if Café Apollo was still serving those delicious steak buns they were so famous for.

Ariena hasn't told them anything. Hell if she'll ever. There are a few things she absolutely knows how to do. Fight, kill, manipulate, and lie.

She can do all four right here, right now. But she's decided against it. It would just make her seem like a criminal.

With a roll of her eyes, Ariena straightens her back, and faces the human. 'Look, Mr. Human officer sir, I was just an innocent bystander who just so happened to be with a bunch of crazy madmen, who managed to convince me to reap havoc all over the Citadel. That doesn't necessarily make me a murderer or unjust criminal.' At that, she turns to give the Turian a look. A playful smirk lies mischievously on her face. 'Don't you think an Asari should be given a little more respect around here?'

The Turian visibly gulps.

'Bullshit.' The human slams his hand on the table inches away from Ariena's face and glares her down. 'We caught you right in the middle of flying a flamed skycar towards the top of the Presidium, where everyone knows is illegal to go to.'

'I never said I remained innocent.'

The human pulls away and flings his Turian friend a defeated look.

Ariena clicks her tongue, and leans back. What more do these officers want? She's told them everything worth telling. Besides, all she can remember from the drunken haze she was in was that she and her mother were doing some kind of mission before the cops showed up and busted them both out. She doesn't remember her mother being as drunk as she was, but then again Aria willingly let them hand-cuff her. That just proves she wasn't herself when the event took place. Ariena shakes her head, and stares up at the officers in boredom.

'Okay, let's make this easy and simple.' Ariena stretches her legs out, and places both hands behind her head. The human seems tired, and the Turian seems conflicted. At this point, there's only one thing left to do. She has to get out of this room to find her mother. She's dealt with a fair share of cops before. Omega may be dangerous but it has officers too. Occasionally, she'd get into spats with a few of them. Whenever that happens, she'd often pull out a gun and kill them easily— if she was feeling lazy. But when she knows she can't afford to increase her kill count, she pulls out the advantage to being a young, manipulative and gorgeous Asari.

'You know, I was hoping it wouldn't come to this.' In a few short seconds, Ariena's eyes blacken out, and she reaches out to grab the human officer's shirt by the collar. She pulls him in, until their faces are only inches apart, and stare at him beadily with her blackened eyes.

'Embrace eternity.'

She lets the human fall limply onto the ground, and turn her gaze towards the Turian. A sly, mischievously satisfied smirk rests on her ever so smug face.

'Your turn.'

**27 HOURS EARLIER**

'Um,' Shepard cocks her head to the right, and stares at the younger Asari in confusion. 'So, can I come in?'

Ariena has to blink several times before finally being able to answer the Commander in a casual way. 'Y-Yes. I mean, Aria is—She's just—Um, yeah, she's at the ba—H-How do you know her?'

So much for being casual.

Shepard grins awkwardly. 'She helped me with, uh, the Reapers.'

'Oh, right, I heard of that. Um, sorry,' Ariena side-steps, and gestures to the party inside. 'C-Come on in.'

Shepard nods, and enters the house with much discomfort. She doesn't look to be too uncomfortable, just extremely awkward. Ariena can't figure out why she'd be here. On her birthday. Looking for her mother. Who, by the way, had never mentioned Shepard before in her entire lifetime. She examines the Commander's human physique for a short moment, noticing her greying brunette hair, her wrinkled tan skin, and her old, aging features. There's no doubt the Commander has aged quite a lot in the past few years. But Ariena's pretty damn surprised Shepard's still standing. It must have something to do with her synthetic implants.

In a rush of the moment, she asks, 'D-Do you want something to drink or—'

'Actually you know what, some beer would be nice.'

Ariena smiles retardedly and nods. She races off to the kitchen in search of an appropriate bottle of beer for the nervous-looking human Commander. By now, countless of people from her party have spotted Shepard, and are now crowding around her asking her questions about the Reapers or her personal life. Ariena tries her best to move her thoughts from the fact that a legend is standing in her apartment, to rummaging through her various drawers and fridges in search of that beer.

A tap on her shoulder causes her to whirl around in panic.

'Woah,' A surprised Aria stands behind her, an eyebrow raised in shock. 'What are you doing?'

'I'm getting a drink!' Ariena exclaims, smiling widely. 'You will not believe who's here.'

Aria smirks. 'Try me.'

'Commander Shepard.'

In less than half a second, Aria's smirk drops.

Aria can't really tell what her expression looks like. After all, her only focus is towards the intense screaming coming from inside her brain where a tiny version of her is telling her to run the hell away from the apartment and escape to the busy streets of Omega where she gets to kill some random Bartarian for no reason at all. All other reasonable thoughts seem to have flown out the window. She just stands there in front of her daughter, morbidly serious and completely speechless. She doesn't know what to say, what to do, how to react. There's one thing she's absolutely sure of, however.

Ariena and Shepard cannot realize their true relations.

'Ariena, go fetch your father. I'll take care of our special guest.'

She's surprised at how steady her voice is.

Ariena doesn't seem to notice the sudden deathly aura floating around her mother, and instead shoots her an appreciative smile. 'Alright.' She leaves Aria, racing off in search of her long lost father. Little does she know her true father stands in her apartment surrounded by a bunch of fangirls and fanboys.

Aria has no idea what to say.

She takes a step back, gulps down the bile at the back of her throat, and exits the kitchen.

Fuck. She knew something was gonna go wrong. She didn't expect _this_! Why is Shepard even here? What does she want? Did Liara call her? Did Liara tell her about Ariena? No, it's not likely. After all, Aria was more or less with Liara the whole time she was here. There's no way Liara could've made a call without Aria knowing about it. Maybe she sent her a message through her omni-tool. Questions flood Aria's already-throbbing head, but she shakes them away, and approaches the mass of people in the centre of the room surrounding one particular human.

With a heavy sigh, she starts to push her way through.

'Move!' She orders, shoving past one of Ariena's friends from her Academy, and accidentally jabbing an Asari stripper in the eye. She doesn't stop to apologize, and instead pushes forward on her assault.

Finally, she makes it to Shepard.

The instant she sees that familiar smile radiating from the Commander's face, she flinches, and stands rooted to her spot.

'Fuck,' She whispers, the sight of Shepard's aged face causing a full-blown blast to explode in Aria's inner conscious. She grits her teeth together, and wraps her slim fingers around the Commander's wrist.

Shepard hasn't noticed her yet, so when Aria starts dragging her away from the group of people, she has no idea who's doing it. With a surprised gasp, she's yanked away from her adoring fans, unable to see the person dragging her due to the sheer shock she's still suffering from. Several seconds later, Shepard finds herself on the balcony. She looks up at her captor, and sees that familiar tint of blue skin.

'Um,' Shepard straightens her back, and stares at the back of Aria's head with a discomforted expression. 'Can I help you?'

'Yes, you can.'

Before Aria even turns to reveal her face, Shepard already recognizes her voice, and her discomforted expression disappears.

'What are you doing here, Shepard?'

The human barely has time to register Aria's presence before going into full-nervous-wreck mode. She opens her mouth to say something, but finds her words stuck in her throat. So she closes her mouth, and attempts to get her breathing straight. That doesn't work out too well either. The sight of her past lover makes her very thoughts stop functioning properly. In the end all she can muster out are a few inaudible words that sound relatively close to the yahg's language.

Aria stiffens. 'Did Liara call you?'

'Did she—No,' Thanfully, Shepard manages to find her set of English words. 'I was—I mean, I knew that Liara left the station to head to Omega but I had no idea why. I just—I guess it was just instinct to follow her.'

'That doesn't explain how you know she came here.'

Shepard wants to turn her gaze down to the ground in guilt. After all, she did kinda hack into Liara's omni-tool to extract her location. But... She just can't bring herself to tear her gaze away from Aria's face. After so long, here she is.

'I can't believe it's really you.'

Aria tenses up instantly. The sheer emotion in Shepard's voice causes all proper thinking to stop. She feels herself go back to the past. In a flashback she sees a slightly younger version of herself sitting by the bar in Purgatory, sipping on a cup of thin Turian tequila. The version of herself that couldn't quite control herself around the Commander, because of the human's confident and suave bravado. They talked, and they laughed, and they complimented, and they confessed. All in all, the night ended well.

In a sense that Shepard knocked her up.

Then Aria remembers the holofile Shepard had sent her after she was nearly killed by human Welthshores, and how she was so confident, deep inside, that she'd meet Shepard again even though the human decided to go to Earth, and she decided to stay on Omega. Everything she had done since then—Realize she was pregnant, give birth to Ariena, raise her, teach her the ways of seduction and destruction—has all boiled up to this very moment.

But now with Shepard in front of her, speechless, and a little awkward, the only thing running through her mind, after the whole flashback, is Ariena.

'Shepard, you have to leave.'

Shepard's expression shifts slowly into one of mix confusion and pain. 'What?' She feels her insides brew a storm. This Asari—This alien she loved—is asking her to leave, after meeting up with her again after 80 years. Just when she feels the undying need to stand up for herself to say no, she stops.

Aria's expression is so sad. Shepard... doesn't think she's ever seen that expression on her before.

It's almost pitiful.

Shepard has made a lot of hard choices in her life. Choosing to save the Council and killing thousands of human lives back when she was dealing with Sovereign. Destroying the Collector base from the man who put in the resources to rebuild her from scratch after the Alliance declared her dead. And allowing herself to fall for a woman who she knew wouldn't ever let her in. In the end, Aria did. She let her in. And when they parted, it was probably the hardest choice Shepard had to make. Not because she's some petty hopeless romantic, but because she told Aria things she had never told anyone else before—And she understood.

The point is, Shepard has made a lot of hard choices. It came to the point that she now knows how to choose responsibility over her own selfish needs.

So she knows now that if Aria wants her to leave, she'll leave.

But she had to know one thing.

'Why?'

Aria shakes her head with her eyes shut closed. 'Because, Shepard,' Think of an excuse. Please. 'I-I can't—I have a different life now. And you do too. What happened before was in the past. And you of all people know I never look back.'

Shepard feels herself slowly start to unravel the knotted tension in her stomach. She finds herself starting to disagree.

'Just because we have different lives, doesn't mean it can't coexist together.' She takes a step forward towards her, and feels in no discomfort when Aria doesn't pull away. 'Ever since you saved my life, I've been thinking of ways to repay you. But it all turned out to be in vain, when I realized I probably won't ever see you again. 80 years, Aria, it's been 80 years.' She chuckles silently, and shakes her head in disbelief. 'How can you say you never looked back when obviously, you feel the same way too.'

Well she has a daughter, and she can't possibly deal with Shepard with Ariena just a few rooms away.

She just can't fall for Shepard again. She has so many reasons why. First off, it would only put her life, Shepard's life and most of all, Ariena's life, in danger. Secondly, Aria's not one of those 'stay-in-one-relationship' kind of people. To think she, Shepard, and Ariena being one big happy family is like saying a Vorcha's ass is prettier than an Asari's. She just can't possibly let that happen. With a boosting confidence, she opens her mouth to retaliate, but she's interrupted by the sliding doors beside her.

Liara pauses once she sees the two of them only a few inches apart, both sporting frustrated and red (or in Aria's case, blue) faces.

'Is this a bad time?'

'Liara,' Shepard murmurs, eyes widening at her roommate's arrival. 'What are you doing here?'

'I could ask you the same question, Shepard.'

The Commander tenses, and shrugs awkwardly. 'After you showed me the holofile, I couldn't—Um, ' She shakes her head, and turns her gaze down. After a second's pause, she turns her gaze back up to Aria. 'I know you have a daughter.'

Oh, shit.

Well good thing is Liara loves great drama, especially if it involves her hard-headed irritating party-obsessed roommate. Bad thing is this leaves her in an uncomfortable position of being the third wheel, just awkwardly staring as the conversation unravels.

Liara truly has absolutely no idea what to make of the situation. The two seem like ex-lovers, reunited, but conflicted on getting back together, yet at the same time they almost look like complete strangers. She can't tell if they're both truly angry at each other, because when Liara looks into their eyes, she notices that spark of despair. That hint of longing. Ariena had come bounding up to her not more than fifteen minutes ago asking her to follow her to the kitchen. In an awkward attempt to seem casual, she nodded, placed her drink down, and ended up accidentally spilling it all over the marble floor. Ariena said it was no big deal, and led her to the kitchen, where she left her to go clean to mess up. Liara contemplated just staying there to wait for her 'daughter', but then she saw Aria dragging a familiar looking human out to the balcony. Of course, curiosity peeked at her, and Liara had to go see who it was.

She did not expect to see Shepard here.

And the fact that the two had already met up is a little nerve-wrecking.

What did Aria say to her? And how did Shepard react to it?

Aria seems absolutely speechless at the thought of Shepard knowing. Questions and accusations run through her head—What holofile? Of course, Liara told her. But it's unexpected considering how fond the Asari is to the Commander. What in hell's name is she going to say now?

She turns away instantly to face the cold Omega night. Thank the goddess her apartment has a balcony. And to think she nearly let Tadus talk her out of buying it.

'Aria.'

'What?' Her voice is irritated, frustrated, and guilty.

'Who's the father?'

Aria turns around to face her, but fails to read Shepard's hard expression. She knows that Shepard's upset. She knows that she's a little hurt. But what else is among those blue orbs?

'I don't think—'

'We had sex.' Shepard says confidently, proving a rather awkward point. Especially with Liara standing not too far from her with her hands behind her back. 'We had sex, Aria. I don't know about you but that's not something I do casually. Plus it was _mind-blowing _sex, okay? I don't know if you remember, but it was freakin' mind-blowing.'

Ah. There's the Commander Aria had fallen for.

She has to shake her head in amusement, but she manages to keep a smile from escaping.

_No, T'Loak! Don't fall for Shepard's funhouse of mirrors and deceiving charm._

'Shepard—'

'I love you.'

Aria instantly tenses up.

Shepard notices it, and presses more. 'I _love_ you, Aria. Doesn't that mean anything to you?' She takes a few steps forward, until she's merely a few inches away. So much for choosing responsibility over her own selfish needs. Now that she's on a roll, it's kinda hard to stop. 'I don't wanna be some overly obsessed lovesick teenager confessing her love to the Asari she loves, but I've waited 80 years for this moment. And I'm not letting you slip through my fingers again.'

At this distance, she can easily capture Aria in a lustful kiss.

But she decides against it.

It isn't the right time. It isn't the right place.

Aria can't do anything but stare at Shepard's face. It's hard to look anywhere else, really, considering their proximity. Her words leave her, and her senses kicked in.

She wants to kiss her _so_ bad.

By the corner of her eye, she sees Liara. She looks over Shepard's shoulder to the younger Asari as she flails her hands wildly in front of her to try and catch Aria's attention. Liara then gestures behind her and mouths 'Ariena'. Aria knows what she means. Quickly, she turns back to Shepard's face, and though it kills her, she forces out a bitter voice. '_I _don't love you.'

Just like that, she brushes past her, and flings Liara a look before sliding through the double doors and disappearing within the apartment inside. That leaves just Shepard and Liara standing awkwardly in the brisk cold Omega air.

Liara can't see Shepard's face. She's still facing the city. But she can already tell how torn she must be. As cruel as Aria is, stating that she doesn't love her in such a fashion was a lil bit much. Especially since it's Shepard that she said it to.

'Shepard?' Liara takes a few steps toward her. When the human makes no move at her call, she hesitates. 'Are you alright?'

Liara watches from behind as Shepard slowly shakes her head. She turns around with a morbid look on her face. She looks so pained. Liara hasn't seen this face since she told her that Aria refused to visit her back in the Huerta Memorial Hospital.

'Shepard, I'm sorry—'

'Do you really think she meant that?' Shepard asks quietly. 'Cause I don't.'

Liara looks away, slightly tense. She doesn't think so either. But she's met Aria's daughter. And though she isn't her real father, she does kinda like her—She looks so much like Shepard. Plus she's charismatic, sweet, and beautiful. At that thought, a realization hits her.

Could Ariena be Shepard's child?

This _is_ her 80th birthday. And Aria did sleep with Shepard 80 years ago.

'Shep—'

'I need to find her.' Without another word, Shepard rushes past Liara, and makes her way into the apartment.

'Wait, Shepard! There's something you should—'

Too late. With a frustrated sigh, Liara presses on her temples with her two fingers, and shakes her head. What a crazy night, this is.

Back inside, Aria searches around the house for her mischievous little daughter, who had apparently disappeared after realizing Liara wasn't in the kitchen anymore. Aria growls in frustration after exiting a rather empty bedroom, and makes her way back to the living room. But then something catches her eye.

A strand of silver hair.

Quickly, she side-steps, and makes a turn to the few guest rooms by the corridor on her left. She weaves pass a few people, and approaches a silver-haired human girl with great confidence.

'Ms. Casstone,' She says coolly. 'I don't suppose you know where my daughter is.'

The human turns around in shock, staring at Aria's demeaning form with a slightly fearful look in her eyes. 'A-Aria,' She stutters out nervously. 'I don't—Um, she's—She's by the bar. L-Last time I checked.'

Aria smirks. 'Thank you,' Just before she leaves, she says, 'Oh, don't forget to tell your father I'm gonna kill him and his bodyguards the next time he tries to take any shipments from _my_ cargo again. Got that?'

The girl smiles nervously. 'I'll pass on the message.'

'Thank you, Ava.'

Aria then makes her way towards the living room, where the bar's located. Damn, why didn't she think to check there first? Then again, why would Ariena be in the bar when her girlfriend is mingling with the guests by the guest room corridor? Of course Aria knows about her daughter's little relationship with the Casstone daughter. Aria knows everything, after all. She had decided not to say anything about it, considering it's not like Ariena's gonna stop seeing her if Aria confronts her about it anyways.

She brushes past a few people, ignoring some of their crude insults and flattering compliments, and approaches a lone Asari seated by the bar in silence.

Once she reaches, she leans on the bar and faces the younger girl in wonder. 'Enjoying the party?'

'Yeah, I threw up twice and now I seem to have lost my dad.'

Aria stifles a sigh of relief. She reaches out to grab the tequila shot from Ariena's hand, and places it far out of the girl's reach.

'Hey!' Ariena exclaims, bringing her head up to glare at her mother. 'I was drinking that.'

'I know. But get up,' Aria pushes herself off, and gestures to the doors. 'We're getting out of here.'

'What? Why?'

'Because you only turn 80 once. And I want my daughter to remember it.'

Ariena shoots her mum a weird look. This is kinda out of character. Unless Aria decides to attack her, then it'd be completely legit. But then again, she does feel kinda woozy and feels she needs some fresh air. With a roll of her eyes, and a silent sigh, she pushes herself off the bar stool. 'Where to?'

'The best place to reap havoc and chaos.'

'Illium?'

Aria rolls her eyes. 'You child. No, I'm talking about somewhere with a higher reputation.' With an evil grin, she grabs her daughter's wrist and drags her out of the alcohol-filled apartment towards the skycar parked downstairs. There's a plan in everything. She knows that Shepard'll chase after her. She'll confess her heart out, and Ariena will eventually find out about her. So what better way to avoid that happening than to drag Ariena and herself out of the equation by bringing her away for some serious fun?

Halfway down the elevator, Ariena stifles a burp, and turns to her mother. 'I still don't know where we're going.'

'Ariena,' Aria purrs wistfully. 'We're going to the Citadel.'

* * *

**Author's Comments: I know this is pretty short. Honestly I had a massive writer's block, because I've stopped playing Mass Effect to focus on school and whatnot. But I managed to get it done either way. **

**Now, there's a lot of talk about age, even in the previous chapters. Just to clear things up, humans in the ME universe CAN live up to 150. Shepard said that to Liara in Mass Effect 3, if my memories serve me correctly. I believe he/she said something along the lines of "I'm sorry, _only_ a hundred and six (?) years old? Humans that live over a hundred and fifty are a rarity." Okay well that's not at all accurate but yeah, Shep did say something like that. I took it to mean that humans are able to live up to a hundred and fifty, and those who live over that extent are either lucky or just really healthy. **

**The other thing is that even though Shepard _is_ still alive, how is she still looking good? That's an excellent question. I assume that with her synthetic implants and if you consider the fact that she was re-built by Cerberus at one point, she can maintain a *sorta* youthful appearance even at that age. But like I've mentioned in the story, her hair is already greying, her skin is already wrinkling and her age clearly shows on her face. I hope that sums things up. If not, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. If it does, then yay for Shep and Aria!  
**

**By the way, thank you for all of you who've reviewed! Sorry I can't reply all of them individually but I must emphasize that I really do appreciate it! They help me keep this story going. And for those who have favorited and followed this story, thank you as well!**

**Thanks, -K.**


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